Masonic Gravestone Defaced In Bowen Road Cemetery

During a research trip to Bowen Road Cemetery in Nanaimo on 14 January 2017 I made an unfortunate and disturbing discovery: the grave stone of a deceased Freemason has been vandalized and defaced, presumably because of the Masonic Square and Compasses carving prominently displayed on it.

Bro. Joseph Foy’s gravestone depicted a very well executed Square and Compasses in marble, which faced the roadway in Bowen Road Cemetery. The photo below, which I took in 2014, shows how it appeared before being vandalized and defaced.

The defaced Joseph Foy gravestone in Bowen Road Cemetery, 14 January 2017, Note how someone has covered the Square and Compasses with concrete on the diamond shaped stone on top of the marker.The defaced Joseph Foy gravestone in Bowen Road Cemetery, 14 January 2017, Note how someone has covered the Square and Compasses with concrete on the diamond shaped stone on top of the marker.

Someone has smeared a layer of concrete over the carving of the Square and Compasses on Joseph Foy’s grave.

I am speculating that this was done because Brother Joseph Foy’s grave is immediately adjacent to the road which runs through Bowen Road Cemetery and someone has taken exception to the Masonic Square and Compasses being prominently displayed in a very visible location immediately adjacent to the road.

The opposite side of Joseph Foy’s headstone also displays a Square and Compasses carving, identical to the one which has been smeared with concrete, but this carving has not been touched. The photo below shows how it appeared on January 14, 2017:

The Square and Compasses carving on the Joseph Foy gravestone in Bowen Road Cemetery, 14 January 2017. This is how the Square and Compasses appeared on the opposite side of the monument, facing the road, before someone smeared it with concrete.

I am speculating that the vandal(s) did not see the Square and Compasses carving on the opposite side of the Joseph Foy headstone since it faces away from the road. Whatever the reason, this Square and Compasses carving on the opposite side of the Joseph Foy gravestone has not, so far at least, been vandalized, damaged or defaced.

In the meantime, we need to be aware that a person or persons has/have deliberately targeted, vandalized and defaced a Masonic symbol on the grave of a deceased Brother – a coal mine manager who died trying to rescue coal miners trapped in a flooded mine shaft – and we need to be keeping a watchful eye on other grave markers which display Masonic symbols.

2 thoughts on “Masonic Gravestone Defaced In Bowen Road Cemetery”

W.Bro. Anderson,
Thank you for taking the time to post this very important story and also for taking up this cause. The erosion of grave monuments over time is one thing but to be vandalized is quite different. We had a situation here in Toronto, a few years ago where a large number of (only Jewish) monuments were upturned and many were broken. It finally stopped and I believe in part due to the immense outcry and publicity it received. Cemeteries are on sacred ground and should be treated as such. The punishment for this type of behavior should be severe